LIGHT-CHESS By Davi0k

light-chess is a light-weight, simple and fast NodeJS library to handle chess matches and chess moves validation. The library has been written in Type-Script and well documented using TSDoc standard.

Package reference and documentation

You can find the package documentation inside the /docs. This folder contains all the files generated by Typedoc, just open the index.html file and you will be able to explore the documentation as you wish.

Installing the package using NPM

You can install light-chess using the famous package manager NPM. To do so, just type this in your workspace:

npm install light-chess

Now you can import the entire package using commonjs:

const light = require("light-chess");

In Type-Script, you should do:

import light from "light-chess";

A note for Type-Script users

If you are using Type-Script you may want to install the related @types. This step is not required, being light-chess developed entirely in Type-Script, the related @types are automatically installed.

Building the package from source-code

First, clone this repository using git:

git clone https://github.com/Davi0k/light-chess.git
cd light-chess

Then install all the required packages using npm:

npm install

Finally, compile the /src directory using the Type-Script Compiler:

npm run compile

Testing the package

The tests of the project has been written using the Jasmine test-suite. If you want to run them and check the test result, simply run this command:

npm test

Using FEN expressions with light-chess

light-chess supports the import and export of matches in FEN format as well. To import or export a FEN expression, you have to use the apposite method inside the Chess class.

Importing a FEN expression in a match

To do this, you just have to use the Chess.import method:

const chess: Chess = new Chess();

chess.import("rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 0");

const chessboard: string = chess.unicode();

console.log(chessboard);

Or you can import the expression directly in the class constructor:

const chess: Chess = new Chess("rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 0");

const chessboard: string = chess.unicode();

console.log(chessboard);

Exporting a match into a FEN expression

To do this, you just have to use the Chess.export method:

const chess: Chess = new Chess();

const fen: string = chess.export();

console.log(fen);

A minimal chess game written in Type-Script with light-chess

import { Chess, Coordinate, Movement, Validations } from "light-chess";
import readline from "readline";

const rl = readline.createInterface({
    input: process.stdin,
    output: process.stdout,
    terminal: false
});

const chess: Chess = new Chess();

function print(chess: Chess): void {
    console.log(`Current turn: ${chess.turn ? "BLACK" : "WHITE"}`);

    const unicode: string = chess.unicode();

    console.log(unicode + "\n");

    console.log("Insert a valid move: (example: e2 e4)");
}

rl.on("line", function(data: string) {
    const coordinates: [string, string] = data.split(" ") as [string, string];

    const initial: Coordinate = Chess.decode(coordinates[0]), final: Coordinate = Chess.decode(coordinates[1]);

    const movement: Movement = { initial, final };

    const validation: Validations = chess.move(movement);

    switch(validation) {
        case Validations.BLANK_SQUARE:
        case Validations.ILLEGAL_MOVE:
            console.log("Illegal or invalid move for the selected piece\n");
            break;

        case Validations.KING_ON_CHECK:
            console.log("Your king is under attack, this move is illegal\n");
            break;

        case Validations.CHECKMATE:
            console.log(`Checkmate! ${chess.checkmate ? "BLACK" : "WHITE"} wins the match\n`);
            process.exit();
    }

    print(chess);
});

print(chess);

License

This project is released under the GNU General Public License v3.0. You can find the complete license here: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html